A boutique law firm focusing on Tax, Business and Estate Planning

Pittsburgh, PA

Estate Plan Checkup – Give your family the gift of organization

MARY JO CORSETTI’S ESTATE PLAN CHECKUP: FOR THE HOLIDAYS AND THE NEW YEAR, GIVE YOUR FAMILY THE GIFT OF ORGANIZATION!

One of the best gifts that you can give your children and other family members is the gift of organization; don’t leave them with a mess to clean up after you’re gone. Here are matters for consideration:

Review your current estate plan. Are your documents appropriate for your family’s situation? If you have a child who needs a trust, is there one? Conversely, will your responsible young adults have access to funds when they need it?

Do you have a houseful of junk? Get rid of stuff while you’re alive so that it doesn’t become someone else’s month-long project. Not all old stuff is valuable. There is a good chance that no one will want those three cuckoo clocks.

Does someone have power of attorney for you if you and your spouse are both unable to act to take care of your financial matters? If not, you could be headed for a guardianship; not the end of the world, but the expense and angst is sometimes avoidable.

Do you have legal loose ends? Does your brother in a second marriage have a second wife with children (not your brother’s) who will inherit part of your matriarchal family vacation home if your brother passes away before she does? Those children are known as “laughing heirs” and you will be co-owner with those strangers.

Are you leaving money outright to a child or grandchild who is in a bad marriage? In a world where there is an app to rate prospective dates on their affluence, one must be cognizant of gold digging spouses and fiancés.

WISHING YOU AND YOURS A PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY, HAPPY, AND BLESSED HOLIDAY SEASON AND NEW YEAR!